Manchester United have finally ended speculation surrounding the future of striker Romelu Lukaku by officially announcing a deal which brings the Belgian to Old Trafford from Everton for a rumoured fee of £75m.
It represents a major coup for United and Jose Mourinho, with Lukaku widely expected to make a return to Chelsea to rejoin the champions under Antonio Conte. But United moved swiftly, perhaps covertly, to capture a player who has blossomed into the one of the most feared and prolific strikers in the Premier League.
In a quite extraordinary chain of events, Lukaku gave his first interview confirming the move to United prior to the official announcement. As part of that, he stressed that, despite rumoured late intervention Chelsea, the striker’s mind was already made up.
“This is an opportunity that I’ve always wanted since I was a child…I didn’t have to think twice…Who would say no to the biggest club in the world?”
Lukaku also dedicated a special mention for Mourinho, having served under him at Chelsea.
Mourinho was unable to give Lukaku opportunities, loaning him to West Brom and then later allowing a permanent move to Everton, without insisting on a buy-back clause. Ironically, that decision surely helped seal the deal for United years later.
It’s clear from Lukaku’s statements, there is no animosity felt on his part.
“We were together under different circumstances. Obviously, the first time when I met him, I was still a young kid, and I was eager to play. And he understood my decision why I left at the time…I think he wants to improve me, make me a better player than I am today, which is good. I always want to improve…I think it’s the perfect opportunity. I’m 24. I never won a major trophy, but I’m eager to win something and to be part of a team that wins trophies, and I think he’s the right guy to help me in that.”
The History
A product of the Anderlecht youth academy, Lukaku made his first-team debut in May 2009, just less than two weeks after his sixteenth birthday.
The Belgian wasted no time in settling as a regular and racked up 31 goals and 12 assists in 62 outings over the next two seasons, which included play-off matches.
Two goals in as many at the start of 2011/12 persuaded long-time suitors Chelsea to splash the cash before the closure of the summer transfer window. But Lukaku was unable to nail down a spot in the first-team and was handed just a single start in the league, with a further seven appearances off the bench.
Loaned out to West Brom in 2012/13, the frontman thrived with the security of regular pitch time and delivered 17 goals and seven assists in 35 league matches for the midlands side.
He returned to the Bridge the following summer but – somewhat ironically – failed to convince the incoming manager Mourinho. Farmed out on loan to Everton, he delivered 15 goals and nine FPL assists in 31 league outings under Roberto Martinez.
After making the switch permanent in June 2014, Lukaku produced a further 28 goals and 13 assists over the next two seasons with the Spaniard at the helm before stepping up a level under new manager Ronald Koeman.
In the Dutchman’s first season in charge, Lukaku bagged 25 goals and six assists to cement his place as one of the most reliable big-hitters across the Fantasy games and spark a summer scramble for his services.
On the international stage, the forward played a total of 10 times for the Belgium U15, U16 and U18s, scoring twice. Handed his senior debut back in 2010, he has notched 20 times in 57 appearances.
The Prospects
Bearing in mind that only two United players scored more than five goals in last season’s Premier League – the now-departed Zlatan Ibrahimovic (17) and Juan Mata (six) – the need for attacking reinforcements is obvious.
Standing six foot three, Lukaku is tailor-made as a lone striker for Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formations. Like United’s previous reported target Alvaro Morata, he ticks all the boxes – strong in the air (six goals came from headers) with an ability to hold up the ball and bring team-mates into play.
Crucially, though, the Belgian also offers United pace up front – something they lacked badly with Ibrahimovic last term.
We saw Mourinho address this issue in the Gameweek 33 win over Chelsea, benching the veteran and countering with the fleet-footed talents of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.
From a tactical perspective, Lukaku’s all-round game now offers Mourinho greater variety and could see United sitting deeper and hitting on the break more often against rivals.
As evidenced by the team data, United’s attack underperformed last term. They were fourth for shots (591) yet a lack of cutting edge saw them drop to eighth for goals, with 54 strikes to their name.
Despite scoring 17 times, Ibrahimovic was more culpable than most. Although he missed ten league matches last term through injury or suspension, the Swede still finished second top forward for total attempts (115) and also claimed a top-four spot for efforts in the box (80).
His average of 21.2 minutes per attempt was quicker than Lukaku’s 29.7, yet he converted only 14.8% of his chances, which was some way behind the Belgian’s 22.7%.
The new arrival fired five shots less (110) than the veteran but scored eight more goals (25) on his way to finishing runner-up to Harry Kane for the Golden Boot.
The close-range numbers are particularly encouraging for Lukaku. He was identical to Ibrahimovic for shots in the box (80) but netted 24 of them – joint-top with Kane – compared with the Swede’s 13.
It was a similar story when it came to big chances. Ibrahimovic was particularly poor for this statistic and scored just seven of his 23, whereas Lukaku netted 18 of 25 – again, that was joint-top with Kane and all the more impressive when you consider that only one of Lukaku’s goals arrived from the penalty spot.
In terms of creativity, Lukaku and Ibrahimovic were joint-top for key passes (47) and big chances created (eight) among FPL forwards, though the latter was quicker in teeing up a team-mate by 51.9 minutes to 69.5.
As a proven talent in the English top-flight, Lukaku needs no time to settle and will be expected to come in around £11.5m or more in Fantasy Premier League.
With Ibrahimovic and Rooney now departed, the new man should also claim penalty kicks to boost his appeal and potential output further.
Lukaku’s arrival looks set to consign the likes of Rashford and Anthony Martial to roles on the flanks once again, with the pair fighting for minutes along with Lingard, Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
There’s also real hope and expectation that Paul Pogba could kick on this time out – he sat seventh for total attempts (92) among FPL midfielders but found the net on just five occasions.
A close friend of Lukaku, Pogba was United’s top creator last term, supplying 57 key passes, yet earned just four assists. With a clinical finisher leading the line, the Frenchman’s all-round potential looks to have improved. He was confirmed as an 8.0 midfielder only yesterday.
Yet Lukaku’s proven Premier League pedigree suggests he could quickly become our go-to option for an attack that has admittedly flattered to deceive in recent times.
Certainly, United’s opening seven fixtures (WHM, swa, LEI, sto, EVE, sot, CPL) strengthen his chances of making an immediate impression at Old Trafford.
With the likes of Kane, Gabriel Jesus and Alexandre Lacazette also offering serious competition for places in our opening three-man frontlines, the quest for value in midfield could be more crucial than ever this time around.
